A/N: Thank you for reviewing! Means a lot. Been doing my best with the updating. I hope you are enjoying the story so far. Let me know what you think.

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Chapter Five: Can't We Be Friends?

The party was already in full swing when Hermione, wearing a beautiful periwinkle dress, arrived by herself at the new residence of the newlywed couple, Ron and Lavender Weasley. Wanting nothing less for his little girl, Lavender's father spared no expense in building the lavish estate for them near Wiltshire. Roman columns, marble floors and a house elf greeted Hermione in the foyer. The elf quickly relieved her of her cloak and disappeared before she could thank him.

"Hermione!" Seamus called out as he made his way over to the entrance, "Hermione Granger!" He took her hands, "I haven't seen you since the day you promised to marry me!" he said teasingly, "How did that end up? How've you been?"

Hermione laughed, "Never mind," she told him as they made their way into the living room, "Just help me find Ron and Lavender."

"Oh, I see," Seamus nodded, "You want to get through the high hurdles first?" He gave her a wink, "Alright, come on then." He led her through the living room where everyone had gathered around: talking and laughing with drinks in hand. They smiled and greeted Hermione as she passed them. They crossed over to the other side near the kitchen door. "Lavender," Seamus tapped on her shoulder. Lavender turned around and faced the new arrival. "Look who I found!"

Lavender smiled and the two of them shook hands, "Hello Mione!"

"Hello Lavender," Hermione said cheerfully.

"I looked over near the front door and saw her and I thought to myself, 'I know you don't I?' and sure enough I did!" Seamus rambled to Lavender. At this point, Hermione confirmed that her behavior at the wedding did not go unnoticed and had been the topic of scintillating discussion. Even more so were they surprised that she decided to show up at the party at all. But Hermione had it all worked out in her head. She want nothing more than to prove to everyone she was a different person and that everything between her and Ron was ancient history.

"Oh! Hermione!" a familiar voice greeted her. Suddenly, Ron appeared from the kitchen door, "It's good to see you."

"Hello, Ron," Hermione smiled. She glanced back and forth between Ron and Lavender, "Well, marriage certainly agrees with you two," she remarked sincerely.

"Now, Mione," Lavender warned her, "Don't be deceived by our looks. Someone has already come between us."

"Who?"

"The Chudley Cannons," she replied dramatically.

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A few hours later, everyone was gathered inside the ballroom listening to an opera singer hired by Lavender to perform for the occasion. Hermione was sitting near the corner, mentally fighting herself to stay awake. Unable to endure anymore of the singer's piercing high notes, she stood up and casually slipped out through the French door that led to the back porch. Her actions did not go unnoticed by a certain redhead, for he too, followed a few moments later. Meanwhile, Lavender's eyes watched as her husband left the room.

Ron made his way to the porch to find Hermione staring intently at one of the lounge chairs. She picked up the cushion from the seat and started adjusting it as she saw fit. She backed herself up to get a better look, when she accidentally bumped into him.

"Oh!" she spun around, startled, "Ron."

"Hello," said Ron, gazing at her as intently as she did at the chair.

"Charming chair," Hermione remarked, focusing on the seat once more.

"Is that what you're interested in?" he asked casually.

"Yes," she said simply. Then it dawned on her, "Oh! You didn't know!" She turned to him and said proudly, "I'm drawing things like that for a newspaper."

"Oh," he replied, "You don't mean you're working?"

"Yes."

"On a paper yeah?" Ron repeated.

Hermione nodded, "Ads."

"Wonderful," he said.

Just then, the ballroom erupted into applause.

"Who's the singer?" Hermione asked.

Ron leaned in as if he were about to reveal a great secret. "I have NO idea," he replied with a grin, "Somebody Lavender dug up from someplace."

"Lovely voice," she told him, "Just a little…high." She sat down on the chair and leaned back.

Ron continued staring at her, with a slightly amused look on his face. "This isn't exactly what I expected," he said.

Hermione cocked her head, "What are you talking about?"

"I've been wondering for sometime just," he paused for a moment, deep in thought, "just, what it would be about, when you and I met again. He chuckled, "I never thought it would be about furniture and singers."

She smiled, "What did you think it was going to be about?"

"Mione, I was more or less led to believe it was going to be about oceans," he mentioned offhandedly while glancing anxiously around the porch.

"Oceans?"

"Seas, as you put it," he recalled, looking down at his shoes, "that it wouldn't be safe for us in this world unless there were eight of them between us."

Hermione was beaming inside as she realized just how powerful her words had on him. "The wine is a funny fellow," she replied with a laugh, "as you put it."

"Oh," Ron nodded, "So it was the wine then after all?" he asked, almost disappointedly, "And as soon as I left, all as if nothing had happened."

"No," she answered, her tone more serious, "Not at first," she thought fondly back to the night at the Leaky Cauldron with Harry, "But I'm alright now."

"And umm, talking to me," he asked as he paced about, "is like talking to anybody else?"

Hermione tilted her head, "Aren't you glad?"

"No," Ron muttered.

"Are you sorry, I'm not suffering?" she asked, a little amused at his behavior.

"No," he answered, "I'm not sorry you're not suffering."

"What do you want?" Hermione raised her eyebrows.

Ron stopped pacing and sat down on the bench opposite her. "Do you have another sweetheart?"

"Yes," she responded a little too quickly.

"Who?"

"The furniture," she said plainly.

Ron laughed, "Now come on. Quit your fooling. Who else?"

"Not a soul," she told him.

He paused for a moment. "So this is the end eh?" He let out a loud sigh, "You know, somehow, its kind of sad," he said, lowering his eyes.

"Why should it be?" Hermione turned her head, "Can't we be friends?"

Ron looked up at her, "Friends? Would you like that?"

"Sure," she shrugged her shoulders.

"Say, I'd like that too," he gave her a genuine smile, "I think that's a lovely idea. Friends I mean."

"Of course."

"Real friends," he continued excitedly, as if he's never heard of the idea, "Genuine friends!"

"Yes!"

"Swell!" Ron exclaimed with much enthusiasm, "Is there any finer friendship in this world than between two friends?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head. Their moment was interrupted by Lavender's entrance.

"Ron, dear, this party is incredibly dull," she announced as she made her way over towards them, "I'm afraid we're just an old married couple."

"An old married couple is right," Ron repeated as he pulled her down next to him on the bench. He grinned, "We're just sitting down here talking about furniture."

"Stop it," she scolded playfully, "That's a foul trick to be playing on Mione."

"No it isn't," said Hermione, "I'm in love with furniture."

"What?" Lavender asked with her hands clasped together.

"Yes, it's a terrific affair!" Ron added, "Everyone is talking about it."

Lavender observed keenly at the two of them, "You two by any chance aren't lucky enough to be a little bit tight are you?" she chuckled.

"Oh darling! Please be kind to me. I've been insulted," said Ron with a hint of whining in his voice, "My ego is hurt. I thought Hermione was carrying a torch for me and she says she can't believe she ever was in love with me!" He pouted his lips, "She doesn't even know I exist!"

"Oh what is all this?" a confused Lavender asked, "Egos? Torches? I can't make---"

"Say, you haven't heard anything yet," Ron interrupted her animatedly. He stood up and faced the girls, "We've got it all figured out," he explained, "We're going to be friends. It's going to be a sort of a unique friendship you see. I, umm—you see, she—umm—"

"Ron, let me tell her," Hermione interjected. Ron nodded sheepishly. She turned to Lavender and began in a very serious manner, "Ron never loved me. He liked me," she stated simply, "And now, I like him. That's all there is to it and I want you to believe me."

"Thank you Mione," Lavender nodded, giving her an awkward smile, "And I do believe you."

"See, there you are!" Ron proclaimed happily, "That's what I said! We're all friends! Hermione and I are friends. You and Hermione are friends. Why, you could say we were saturated with friends!"

The girls laughed at his fervent declaration.

He crouched down to their level, "Say, how about this?" he suggested, "Why don't we all go to the Quidditch match tomorrow night?"

Lavender sighed, "There we go again! Didn't I tell you Hermione? My rivals! The Chudley Cannons.

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The next morning.

Harry walked into his office where Meg and Hermione had been waiting. He shook his head. "Nothing doing," he said as he closed the door behind him.

The match tonight between Puddlemere United and the Chudley Cannons was the most anticipated game of the year. Everyone was either talking about it, or wagering on it. Unfortunately for Hermione, the match had been sold out weeks ago and Harry's frantic search around the Daily Prophet for an extra ticket this late ended without success.

"You and Harry are going, and that's final," Hermione told her mother.

"No, no---" Mrs. Granger tried to argue, "I will—"

"Mother, you love Quidditch and I don't," she stated simply, "If I went and you didn't, I wouldn't enjoy it."

"She means that," Harry added with a smirk.

"Oh," Mrs. Granger frowned, "What can I say?"

"Nothing," her daughter replied stubbornly as she headed towards the door.

"No chance of your great love coming through, is there?" Harry asked sardonically.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "No, all Ron could get was two." She opened the door; "I'll be in my flat afterwards. You can come by and tell me about it." She was about to step out, when suddenly; she turned back around and marched over to Harry who was now at his desk, "Oh Harry, you might as well give me the 5 galleons right now," she said haughtily.

"Ha!" Harry answered, folding his arms, "Anytime!"

"You never won on your life," she teased with a smug expression.

"But I'm going to the match and you're not," he shot back with a grin, "Laugh that off lassie!"

"If you were a gentleman, you'd give me your seat," she mentioned nonchalantly.

"But I'm not," he replied in a singsong voice.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him before reaching for the doorknob, "My my," she said facetiously, "How you surprise me." With that, she left his office and proceeded down the hall back to her workstation. As she came nearer, she spotted a familiar redhead waiting by her desk.

"Ron!" she greeted, completely taken by surprised, "What are you doing here? Today of all days! The match!"

Ron smiled. "That's what I'm doing here," he said, reaching into his inner breast pocket. He presented two slips of paper to her, "There they are. Near the front too!"

"But you've only got two," she looked him, perplexed.

"What do we need more for?" he asked.

"Lavender isn't going?"

"Sick," Ron answered casually.

"Oh," she frowned, "What's the matter?"

"I drove her to bed talking about it," he explained as he returned the tickets back into his pocket, "She told me not to worried about it. Said tomorrow would be the happiest day of her life."

"But Ron," Hermione narrowed her eyes, "I can't go with you alone."

"Why not?" he demanded, the cheerful expression disappearing from his face, "Are you crazy?"

"YOU must be crazy to think I would," she said plainly.

Ron stared at her for a moment, a little taken aback. "Oh well Mione," he sighed regretfully, "I've got everything all wrong then."

"How do you mean?" she asked, still confused.

"Well, I thought we were friends," he muttered, lowering his eyes, "But I see I'm all haywire." He shrugged and started to leave.

"But Ron," Hermione caught up with him, "After all—"

He stopped and turned back "Yeah, after all. After all what?"

"Does Lavender know you were going to take me?"

"Of course she knows it!" Ron replied, a little put off. "Look Hermione. You were there when we talked about being friends weren't you?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, I was there."

"Of course," he assured her, "Lavender knows all about it."

"Oh well," she took a moment to think it over, "That's different."

"Listen Hermione," said Ron, "Let's not throw this idea of ours in the trash bin before it's even started," he pleaded, "I've been thinking about it ever since! And you and I've got an opportunity no two people ever had before! The more I think about it, the more lovely it gets."

"Yeah," she replied, unable to hid the suspicious tone in her voice, "It'll probably get lovelier all the time."

"You bet it will," Ron stared into her eyes, "Is there any finer friendship than between two men?"

"But I'm not a man," said Hermione.

"That's the idea of the game," he said, stating his point, "That's what makes it so different! We'll act exactly as if you were a man." Ron rubbed his hand on her shoulder, "Come on. Now, say you'll go. Let's try it once anyway," he gave her a puppy face.

"Well," she hesitated to answer.

"Who are betting on?" he asked, "The Chudley Cannons?"

"Yes."

"Right then," he smiled, "It's a cakewalk."

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Please Review. Hope you enjoyed the story so far! I assure you, this is not a Ron/Hermione story!